Spider Webs
by BlackSpiderGuild
Summary: The delicate strands of a spider web hold more than just dew from rain. They hold the stories and secrets of us all. They tell of the beauty and misery inside the darkest of tales. And one spider web holds the most interesting tale of all, the tale of the Black Spider Guild.
1. Prologues

**Prologue 1:**

_Sythia Linx stared out of the schools classroom window with disdain. She was bored out of her mind, again. The normal life she was living was irritatingly simple. In her eyes she was surrounded by incompetent fools. There were to many fools on this planet, she decided. Sythia faintly listened to her teachers droning lecture, however she quickly tuned out. Instead she began eavesdropping on the murmured conversations around her. Perhaps one of her peers would have something worthwhile to talk about._

_"I just got the latest edition of Sorcerers Weekly!" One girl whispered to her friend._

_"I have to read it!" Her friend squealed in reply. Unbelievable, even her own classmates were boring. Sythia's eyes drifted back to the window. Her reflection peered back at her. She had long dark lashes which showed off her amethyst eyes. She had floor length brown hair and pale skin. She was beautiful, Sythia had concluded. However someone like herself deserved a much more interesting life. She needed to find an adventure outside of her pathetic home._

_And so, during the passing period between classes; Sythia Linx gracefully slipped out of the school building and headed towards the main road which lead anywhere. She headed to the unknown..._

* * *

**Prologue 2:**

_Circuit Hues was the product of a drunken one night stand between an alcoholic woman an and a color blind man. The result was a black and white child hood for the young Circuit. However his color blindness didn't steer him from his artistic abilities. Circuit loved to draw and paint. But his judgmental classmates never approved of his color disoriented artwork. Everyone he came across tried to 'help' him with his disability. But they only made it worse. Circuit couldn't stand their critical ways any longer, he needed to start fresh._

_And so he left._

_However he couldn't find employment and without a job he had no jewel to pay for food. Circuit had no choice but to become a thief. He spent his days robbing carriages and coaches. But one day he was caught. But the wealthy wizard who caught him took pity on him and decided to mentor Circuit._

_Circuit then spent the next few years of his life learning varieties of magic and he was well educated. The man tried to explain to him what his appearance was, but Circuit would never understand what he looked like. The names of colors were nothing more than names. They carried no meaning for a color blind child. Aside from colors Circuit was an excellent study. He quickly absorbed all the information the wizard had to offer. So eventually the man ran out of things to teach Circuit, and once more Circuit departed and resumed his thievery. _

_But he was looking for more in life than just stealing goods. He wanted to travel and experience the world. He wanted to paint and use his magic; so Circuit started off down a road which would take him to another adventure._

* * *

**Prologue 3:**

_The child with stunning amber eyes was born into a life of wealth and comfort. All her life she was shielded and protected, however she sought a life of daring. Her parents simply told her it was too dangerous._

_ So she retreated to the estates library, where she read all about gallant knights and fair maidens. She thought that someday her own prince would come to save her. But she soon realized she wanted to be the adventurer, not the damsel in distress. The foolish child let her dreams guide her without wisdom and she ran away from home. _

_And although she had read of trouble and toil, her books had not prepared her for the real world. _


	2. Lightning Magic

**Chapter 1**

Once Sythia ran away from her home, she realized she had no way to provide for herself. But she knew she couldn't return home and be scorned. Because surely her peers wouldn't let something like a run away slide. Instead she decided she would create a wizard guild, one of the most powerful in the land. One of the many issues with her idea however, was that she herself couldn't do magic, and that wasn't acceptable. But Sythia was undeterred. She was determined to learn an extravagant form of magic. She wanted her power to be as amazing as herself.

Sythia followed the main road all the way to the port city which contained many trading companies and vessels. It was the perfect place to start an adventure. Sythia mused around the city until night began to fall. She had no place to stay and no food or spare clothing. She had nothing but her charms to get her power. She glanced around a street corner and spotted a library. There might be some books she could learn magic from. Sythia scurried inside before they could close.

"Miss." A desk clerk called out, Sythia glanced over her shoulder at him.

"Yes?" She drawled.

"Um...the library closes in five minutes." The clerk stammered, his eyes were drawn to Sythia's porcelain face.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll only be a moment." Sythia explained. The desk clerk looked suspicious, his eyes drifted to Sythia's lips. As if he could see the lies spilling out of them.

"How old are you anyways?" He asked.

"I am 14, I will have you know." Sythia defended herself. She was still young to be alone in a city at night, but she wasn't a child. The clerk reluctantly nodded and left her to explore the library alone. Sythia quickly began scouring the book shelves for anything that would help her learn magic.

_Now there wouldn't be any books on how to learn magic just lying around. _Sythia thought to herself.

_However there might be a vault somewhere with useful reading material. _Sythia added silently. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching her and she pushed open the door into the employee's only room. A closet sized room greeted her, a single door was on each wall. Sythia heard the clerk calling her name from somewhere, probably telling her to get out. Without thinking Sythia opened a door at random and ran inside just as the clerk stepped into the employee's only room.

"I guess she already left." The clerk muttered to himself. She held her breath until she heard his footsteps fade away. Sythia smirked and then glanced around the dim room she was occupying. It wasn't very deep, but it had tall ceilings. And in the middle of the room there was a spiral staircase going to the very top of the ceiling. Sythia hesitantly began climbing the stair case. She was somewhat concerned as to what she would find at the top, however her desire for a book on magic pressured her to keep going.

If she found a book on magic she could teach herself, and then she could start a guild, and everything would go according to plan.

As she kept going, the dusty, wooden stair case creaked underneath her weight. It seemed like this room was seldom used. At the top of the stairs there was a hatch in the wall which was just big enough for her to crawl through. Sythia pried the hatch open and coughed as a cloud of dust flew to her face. She angrily wiped the dust off of her face. How dare this place try to ruin her beauty?!

However, still anxious to learn magic she slowly wiggled her way inside of the hatch. Eventually the narrow opening in the wall opened up to a loft. She wriggled out and closed the hatch. She turned and studied the place she had intruded upon. In the loft there was row after row of books. Each one was written about a different type of magic. And Sythia was determined to learn them all.

_Time to learn some magic._ Sythia thought to herself. Starting from the closest shelf, she scanned over the old books. Her hand brushed along their dusty spines and stopped on a golden coated book. Something about that book seemed special. It somehow attracted her. She gently pried it away from the shelf and read the title.

"_Lightning Magic_." Sythia murmured to herself. "I guess that would work." She commented. Then she heard a commotion outside of the hatch. It was the clerk climbing the stair case, he was coming up to the vault!

Why would that silly man come here?! Sythia glanced around wildly a spotted a small window that was partially hidden by a desk. She pushed the window open and gawked at the sight below her. She was at least 3 stories up, how was she going to get out? Sythia let out a deep breath and shoved the book into her small pack which she had used for school supplies before she ran away. Sythia crawled out of the window and gripped the bricks which covered the library. Luckily they made good handholds.

She then made her grueling way down the side of the building. Slowly, brick by brick, she climbed down. When she reached the ground she stopped to catch her breath and rub her sore hands and wrists. She then wasted no time and ran until she reached the end of the city and the beginning of a forest.

After scouting around for awhile, Sythia climbed up into a sycamore tree with wide branches and made camp there. Night had fallen and there was a sight chill in the branches, but exhilaration coursed through her veins from her exhibition in the library. She most certainly would not experience that kind of excitement back in her old town. But a life on the run, a life in the city would hold all the adventures Sythia could dream of. No longer would she be bored each day, instead she would spend her time learning lightning magic.


	3. Sir Akio

**Chapter 2**

Circuit had no food, no home, no money, no talents, no family... He couldn't name anything he did have! He had been traveling for days among forest branches and small streams. Circuit was certain he was lost and would die alone in the wilderness with nothing to call his own. And then he came across a small road. It was just a wide dirt path but it definitely lead somewhere. Circuit began walking along side it, hoping to reach a town or city soon...before night fell. The forest could be a dangerous place at night.

Suddenly Circuit heard something that resembled wagon wheels turning. He jumped out of the way so he wouldn't be hit, but he tried waving down the carriage so they could help him out. But the man in the carriage didn't stop, he simply laughed at Circuit and drove faster. Circuit stood in shock as dust from the carriage engulfed him.

"He kept driving." Circuit said aloud. "He saw a helpless little kid on the side of the road and he kept driving." Circuit said again, this time angrier.

The next time Circuit heard a carriage he wasn't going to try and get a ride. He would hijack it. He sat in the bushes and waited quietly for one to come rolling down the path. Eventually Circuit heard the jostling of a carriage and he got ready to jump. As soon as the carriage was in view Circuit lunged and grabbed a hold of the side of the carriage. He heard a voice from inside say "What was that?"

The person inside then proceeded to open a window to look for whatever had caused the suspicious thump. Circuit wasted no time and dove inside of the window. The man and woman inside screamed as Circuit squirmed inside. Then the man tried to grab Circuit, but he was slow and Circuit easily maneuvered out of the way. Then Circuit ripped the gold necklace around the woman's neck off and pocketed the jewelry. Before the man could try and grab him again Circuit flung himself from the carriage And ran off into the woods. Circuit smiled at his earnings. When he reached a town, wherever it may be, he would be able to sell the jewelry and buy some food. Then Circuit frowned and looked himself up an down, he looked like a street rat. If he tried to sell the necklace everyone would know it was stolen and arrest him. Circuit had to steal some fancy clothes too.

* * *

"Ha Ha! I've got you now!" Circuit cheered from atop a carriage. His red cape flowed back as the wind pulsed around him. It was just an ordinary day for Circuit Hughes. First he would rob some rich fools of their jewels, and then he would make the days walk to the city and pawn off everything he got. Sometimes he would keep some things too. When he had nothing to do but just sit around he would look at all his meager belongings. But they were his, they belonged to him. And that's what counted.

Suddenly the carriage lurched to a stop beneath Circuit and it nearly flung him off. But he managed to regain his balance at the last second. Then he opened the sun roof and reached his hand inside. Several girls squealed in shock. Circuit popped his head inside and glanced around for something worth while to grab. His eyes landed on a blonde girl with round blue eyes.

"Hey beautiful, I came to steal your money but it looks like you've stolen my heart." Circuit flirted. Then fast as a snake the girl slapped him across the cheek. Circuit groaned and nearly fell inside of the carriage. Then Circuit smiled at the blonde girl and showed that inside of his mouth he had 3 sparkling rings. When the girl had slapped him her rings fell of and Circuit grabbed them with his teeth.

"Hey!" The girl shouted. Circuit flashed her another smile and jumped off of the carriage and ran into the forest with the rings. It was just an ordinary day.

Circuit glanced at the rings and realized they were practically useless. The gems were fake, thus he couldn't sell them for enough to even by a sandwich. Circuit scowled and went back to the road. He would just have to rob someone else to pay for todays meal. Circuit waited for hours but eventually a carriage came around. Circuit could see even from a distance that everything about the carriage was expensive. The person inside would be dripping with diamonds, surely they would have enough to buy Circuit some food? Right as the carriage passed in front of Circuits waiting point he jumped onto the side of the carriage. Circuit then proceeded to try and get inside of the carriage through the window. However the man inside wasn't an idiot and simply pushed Circuit back as he was trying to crawl inside. Circuit wasn't about to give in though and pushed back. The man was fairly old and Circuit managed to force his way inside.

"I wonder how a young man like yourself could be so poor as to rob from the old?" The man murmured. Circuit frowned, he felt slightly guilty. But none the less he carried on pocketing all the little valuables he could find.

"I just ran away from home. That's how." Circuit snapped. The man looked thoughtful.

"I suppose that means you don't have any way to receive an education." The man stated. Circuit didn't answer.

"I guess you also must be homeless." The man added.

"Yah, well enough about me. I've got what I need and I'll be on my way now." Circuit concluded their little conversation.

"You think I'm going to just let you go with all my valuables?" The man scoffed.

"Try and stop me." Circuit challenged.

"Alright." The man agreed. Then, with a flick of his hand all of the things Circuit had snatched flew back to their respective places.

"Hey!" Circuit shouted. Then the man focused on Circuit. Circuit's angry yell was cut short when the man sealed Circuit's mouth shut by simply moving his hand. Circuits eyes went wide and the man smiled.

"Now, lets start our meeting over shall we? My name is Sir Akio. You are?" The man asked and unsealed Circuit's mouth.

"I'm Circuit. Circuit Hughes." Circuit snapped but was to afraid to try and escape. After all the man was clearly a very powerful wizard.

"Well Circuit, I am faced with 3 options. Either I have you arrested, or release you and know you will only rob the next carriage to come around." Sir Akio sighed.

"Or, you could return to my manor with me and I will mentor you." The man said at last.

"Mentor me?"

"I know many magics, I could teach you a great power," the old man offered.

"So, what will it be?" He asked Circuit. This old wizard was definitely a strange one, but the opportunity to learn magic was too good to be true.

"...I will return to your manor with you." Circuit decided. Sir Akio nodded approvingly.

"You won't regret your decision Circuit, I promise." Sir Akio swore and they continued on to his manor.


	4. The Meeting

**Chapter 3**

Sythia spent the entire morning reading out of her stolen book. However she quickly realized learning magic was more complex than she had first anticipated. It would take years of practice before she mastered lightning magic. She sighed at what she had gotten herself into... But Sythia was undeterred. She knew she could accomplish her task if she really focused. She also knew that she would need food and more clothing. Sythia honestly didn't think about this while leaving... How would she even get all the stuff she needed?

At last Sythia made up her mind... She would have to steal to get by on her own from now on.

* * *

Over the weeks, Sythia worked out a daily routine. In the mornings she would read and practice in a nearby rock farm, then at noon she would leave the forest and venture into the city. Using her feminine charms she would distract vendors long enough to get lunch. Then she would pick pocket unsuspecting shoppers and go shopping herself. Sythia loved to browse the market place and look at all the fancy little things that she couldn't buy because they would get ruined in her shabby little tree. But she still had fun just looking. at last, she would wander back to her tabbed tree, climbed up the branches, hid her findings for the day, and fell asleep under a starry sky.

Over time, Sythia spent a lot of time making her tree more livable. She bought string or wire for lightbulbs and hung them all over branches. She used her minimal magic abilities to power the lightbulbs. At night it was so pretty just too stare up at the sky while surrounded by twinkling lights. Sythia also bought carpets and wrapped them around branches for padding. She used rope to weave ladders to climb from branch to branch easier. And at the top of the tree was a wood platform and an old matress which she had stolen from someone's junk pile. Sythia stole a bunch of umbrellas so her top platform wouldn't get rained on and she used cheap quilts for warmth. It wasn't her ideal home, but it _was _home. Each day was as exciting as the last. And each day she got better at her lightning magic. Although her tree was uncomfortable at times it was a unique place to live and it was hers and hers alone.

Sythia practiced charging her light bulbs so she could read at night. It took hardly any effort now. The lights glittered encouragingly at her as she decided to practice something bigger. Sythia climbed out of the sycamore tree and walked over to a large boulder in a clearing. It was easily twice her height and 10 times her width. Sythia focused all her energy on the boulder and thunder crackled over head. Rain started pouring down and Sythia looked up to the sky in awe. _Am I doing this?_ She wondered. Of course she wasn't causing the storm but the raging lighting was all her doing. Suddenly there was a giant clasp of thunder and a lightning bolt shot down from the sky. It hit the rock with so much force shrapnel flew in all directions and Sythia was knocked off her feet. When she looked up the rock had split in half. Sythia approached it and the rock was still crackling with the energy from the lightning bolt.

Sythia smiled, she had indeed mastered Lightning magic.

After 2 years of her life she had become a powerful wizard. All that was left to do was form a guild. But how much time would that take?

"Its okay Sythia, you're only 16. You have plenty of time to form a guild while you are still young." She consoled herself. Then she ran back to her tree and curled up on her mattress. She needed her rest, because tomorrow she would return to the library where she got her lightning book and she would steal another so she could learn even more magic and become even more powerful. The more power she had to better guild she could build.

* * *

The following morning Sythia walked into the city with mounting confidence. After last nights lightning storm she felt unstoppable. Little did she know how easy it was to be stopped.

Sythia slowly made her way to the brick library. She still remembered every detail about the building even after 2 years. She walked calmly inside and casually browsed the book shelves. The desk clerk was staring at her suspiciously. But there was no way he could remember her, right? Sythia decided not to find out if he recognized her and instead moved deeper into the library and away from his vision. She inched her way closer to the employee's only door which lead to the secret book vault.

Suddenly a hand grabbed her shoulder.

"You!" The desk clerk cried.

"You stole my lightning book!" He shouted. Sythia stared at him in panic, he remembered her! Then she roughly pushed him down and sprinted out of the library. However the desk clerk was promptly calling authorities. Sythia sprinted down the street and her long dark hair flew out behind her like wings. Then her world was turned upside down as she crashed into a strange boy with white hair.

"Move!" Sythia shouted and began running again. However the boy began running too. Sythia gasped as his hair changed from white to red. The boy smiled at her.

"You on the run too?" He asked between panting breaths.

"Yes." Sythia said bluntly. The boys eyes widened.

"Really?" He asked.

"I stole a book." Sythia explained. The boy laughed.

"I stole a diamond." He chuckled. Sythia's eyes widened.

"How did you even get this far?" She demanded. Suddenly the boy disappeared and then reappeared.

"You have disapearing magic." Sythia said bluntly. The boy laughed.

"Just some really good colors magic," he looked forward again.

"Well then would you mind helping me escape from the crazy librarian clerk who wants his book back?" Sythia said sarcastically. The boy nodded and grabbed her hand. He then stopped running and forced Sythia to a stop. He pushed her up against the side of a building and immediately they both looked like the plaster of the building.

the boy smirked calmly as The cops ran right past them. Then suddenly, Sythia punched him hard in the gut, "Jeez! Did ya have to get so close?!" she snapped. he stopped camouflaging them and bent over clutching his stomach.

"Ow! you don't have to hit me for it! I can't do it by just looking!" He dropped to the ground in pain, other citizens glanced... Maybe giggled a bit.

"Come on, I've got a place you can stay," Sythia dragged him back on his feet, and started in the direction of her tree in the nearby forest.

"Uh, alright,"

Somewhere along the way a conversation lit between them,

"What exactly can colors magic do?" Sythia looked at his hair which had constantly been changing colors.

The boy looked up and thought for a moment, "Well... It's kinda confusing, but it can change any color of anything as long as I am touching it. And someday, I'm gonna be able to do it just by looking!" he smiled inwardly at his goal, "and I use it to see."

Sythia was confused, he used his magic to see? "Why do you need magic to see?"

"I'm colorblind," he stated simply. A moment passed before he asked, "Can I have your name?"

"My name's Sythia." She offered. For the first time the boy looked her up and down. He smiled a boyish smile. Sythia rolled her eyes and looked around, she knew they were close to her home now.

"I'm Circuit." He said smoothly and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Well Circuit," Sythia murmured and reached her little house. "Welcome to my home." She pointed upwards and let him climb the ladder, she followed closely behind, pulling up the ropes once she made it up. "It's not much, but make yourself at home." She stated coolly and immediately lit the light bulb from the electricity in her finger tips. Circuit stepped back in shock.

"Wow, lightning magic!" He said, impressed. Sythia smiled at his praise, then she flicked her hair over her shoulder.

"So... Why'd you steal the diamond?" She asked.

"It was pretty," he turned his head slightly, "Why'd you steal the book?"

"It was powerful." Sythia responded without batting an eye.

"So you like power huh?" Circuit mused. Sythia didn't know why but she liked this strange kid. He was...interesting.

"Yah, I kind of plan on starting a guild." Sythia confessed. Circuit smiled brightly.

"Ah," He stated, "a magic guild. Huh... could I join it?"

"You sure? Only the strongest mages will get into this guild!" Sythia asked, however there was a challenge in her voice, as if daring Circuit to not accept.

"Sure, I've been dying to find a powerful guild with lots of jobs... and ladies." He flirted. Sythia scoffed.

"Just try to keep up." She snorted.


	5. Black Spider Guild

**Chapter 4**

Circuit sat on the branch just below Sythia in the great Sycamore tree. Dawn light filled the sky and birds awakened.

"So I suppose that if we are gonna create a guild, we have to name it." Circuit mused and took a bite out of an apple. Then he tossed the apple to Sythia.

"I suppose you're right Circus." Sythia agreed and took another bite of the apple.

"Circuit, not Circus. C-I-R-C-U-I-T." Circuit corrected.

"You can spell huh? Pretty smart for a homeless thief." Sythia snickered, then her eyes darkened.

"How did you become a thief anyways?" She asked and threw the apple back to Circuit.

"How did you end up living in a tree?" Circuit fired back. Sythia scowled.

"I don't talk about my past." Sythia muttered.

"Me either." Circuit agreed. Then he smiled.

"But I'll make an exception for you, sweet cheeks." He added. Sythia rolled her eyes but angled herself so she could hear better and Circuit embarked on the stories of his past. Of course he embellished it a little bit, but none the less he had a very interesting story indeed.

"...So after Sir Akio took me in/kidnapped me we went to his manor. It was huge! I swear it was at least 10 stories tall! And there was a thousand stained glass windows too. The front yard was basically a botanical garden with lots of fountains and shrubbery. Lots of flowers, too. The inside was less pretty. There was a lot of chandeliers but the walls were gloomy and the wooden floors were dark. Everything was kept really orderly and clean. Also he had a bunch of paintings of dead relatives which freaked me out. But he gave me my own entire room and it was massive. It could have easily been the size of my house before I ran away. And he prepared a classroom where he would teach me all there was to know about Arithmetic, Astrology, Philosophy, etc. He also taught me color magic. He thought color magic would be most useful to me cause I can only see in black and white. But...Sir Akio was old. And there was little left he could teach me. He needed to rest, not babysit me. So I left and I became a thief. I lived on my own ever since." Circuit paused for a moment, "Well... until I met you, gorgeous." Circuit winked. Sythia grabbed the apple from his hands and bonked him on the head with it.

"I guess we should talk about something else now." Circuit murmured as he rubbed the spot on his head where she had hit him. She flung the apple over her shoulder and hopped out of the tree.

"You can talk all you want, I'm going into the city Circus." Sythia said with feigning boredom.

"It's Circuit!" Circuit called after her. Sythia smirked an 'I don't really care' smirk. Circuit smiled idiotically and chased after her.

* * *

"What's a good spot for our guild?" Sythia asked as the scoped out the city for the perfect place. Circuit glanced around.

"There." He said while pointing to an empty lot on the board walk which overlooked the ocean.

"Perfect." Sythia agreed.

"We need a good name for our guild." said Circuit.

"The Black Spider Guild." Sythia nodded.

"Hey! I thought we _both_ got to decide the name!" Circuit protested. Sythia looked at him like she was just now remembering he was there.

"To late, it's been decided." Sythia yawned and moved on. Circuit reluctantly followed.

"How about I get to design the building then?" Circuit asked.

"Nope, I already have an idea in mind." Sythia lied.

"Can I at least choose what color to paint the walls with?" Circuit pleaded.

"You can't even see color!" Sythia exclaimed.

"I can see you just fine sweet heart." Cirucuit smiled. Sythia let out an exasperated sigh.

"Can we please just rob someone of their purse, without chatter, so we can buy lunch?" Sythia snapped and folded her arms. But they would need more money than that to start a guild. Well, they could worry about that later.

Circuit nodded and they began casually strolling along the board walk once more, but this time it was just for show. They were both really searching for an easy target.

"How about that girl with the fancy scarves? I bet she has a lot of jewel in her purse." Circuit motioned to a brunette girl that was staring into every shop window.

"How will we distract her?" Sythia whispered and pretended to admire a dress in a shop window.

"Allow me." Circuit said boastfully.

"You'll get slapped, don't be an idiot." Sythia warned but Circuit was already walking over to the girl. After a few words Circuit came back to Sythia with a red hand print on the side of his face.

"Don't even say it." Circuit growled but Sythia couldn't help herself.

"Told you so." She laughed.

"Fine! Lets see you do any better!" Circuit muttered.

"Alright. How about that guy?" Sythia pointed out a rich looking young man walking by himself on the side walk. Circuit snorted at Sythias choice but Sythia was already waltzing over to the man. Sythia tapped on his shoulder and the man turned around, his eyes widened as he saw Sythia.

"S'cuse me, but can you point me in the direction of the library?" Sythia asked with a sugary voice. The man stammered a yes and began giving Sythia directions to the library. Meanwhile Sythia's hand had slipped inside his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and placed it inside of her own pocket.

"K, thanks!" Sythia said sincerely and raced off back to Circuit while proudly waving the wallet in the air.

"Looks like we can now afford both lunch and dinner." Sythia cheered. Circuit cracked a smile.

"Of course _your_ flirting works." Circuit murmured and his hair turned bright pink.

"Well the guy only bought it because men are of the lesser species." Sythia explained. Circuit burst out laughing and Sythia stomped on his foot. Circuit only laughed harder. Sythia rolled her eyes and simply went to a vendor and bought 2 burgers and 2 soda's. Circuit and Sythia ate as they walked back to the tree. Suddenly Sythia's face darkened with frustration. It was clear she was thinking hard about something. At last she spoke.

"How are we gonna start a guild?" Sythia sighed softly. Circuit glanced at her.

"We'll find a way." He comforted.

"We have no money, we are practically homeless!" Sythia growled. Circuit shrugged.

"We might not have much money, but we are doing just fine. Trust me, it will all work out." Circuit assured her. Sythia nodded and climbed up to her platform when they reached the sycamore. She charged up all the light bulbs and began reading out of her stolen book again, it's what she did whenever she was frustrated. Circuit simply climbed up to a low hanging branch and began doodling on a sketch pad. After about an hour of silent reading and drawing, Sythia slowly climbed down the tree because she was hungry again. She was about to tell Circuit to give her some jewel so she could buy a snack when she saw him drawing. She watched him without making any noise for a few minutes. Then she got bored.

"Whatch'ya doin'?" She asked loudly. Circuit screamed in shock and dropped his sketch pad.

"I guess I am having a heart attack." Circuit said while clutching his chest. Sythia hopped out of the tree and retrieved his sketch book. Then she flipped through its pages and stared at some of the drawings.

"I know, I know, the colors are wrong." Circuit muttered without meeting her eyes, and made a grab for the sketch book. Sythia maneuvered out of the way easily.

"Yes...the colors are wrong. You gave several people blue skin, actually." Sythia snickered.

"Go ahead, make fun." Circuit snapped and made another lunge for the sketch book but Sythia blocked him with a lightning bolt.

"I'm not making fun of them. I think they're...interesting." Sythia said at last, and then for the first time she cracked a genuine smile. But the smile was disrupted all to soon by a voice.

"Circuit Hughes?" A man in a top hat and coat called out. Sythia tossed the sketch book to Circuit and was poised with lightning in the blink of an eye.

"Who are you?" Sythia called out.

"My name is James, I worked for Sir Akio. I am looking for Circuit Hughes." James stated calmly. Sythia's eyes widened and Circuit stepped forward.

"Sir Akio sent you?" He whispered in shock. James removed his top hat regretfully.

"Yes, and I am sorry to inform you, but Sir Akio has passed on." James said softly. Circuit stumbled back in shock.

"He's..._dead_?" Circuit said disbelievingly.


	6. Beauty is in Everything

**Chapter 5**

Circuit blinked in confusion. His eyes were wide with denial and disbelief. Vague confusion crossed his face, his hair rapidly changed colors as Circuits emotions swirled around. Sythia tilted her head so she could coolly watch James. Suspicion lit in her face and her eyes narrowed.

James awkwardly stood facing them. His eyes drifted around like he couldn't find the right place to look; clearly he wouldn't dare stare at Sythia or face her wrath. James shuffled his feet and cleared his throat. Circuit snapped out of his daze and in 2 strides was directly in front of James.

"How long…" Circuit gulped, his hair turned into a dark red. James looked apologetic and guessed what Circuit was trying to ask.

"Sir Akio has been dead for about a month." James murmured. Sythia sniffed and turned to climb up into her tree. It appeared as if she was giving Circuit privacy to mourn, but she was just going to eavesdrop.

"I didn't just come here to report the death of Sir Akio, however." James stated as soon as he thought Sythia was out of hearing distance. Circuit's prompted James to continue, but Sir Akio's former employee seemed reluctant to continue. After a moment James began to reach into his right pocket. He halfway pulled out a crumpled envelope. Sythia's eyes scanned the envelope for any clue to what was inside. However James's eyes darkened and he hastily shoved the envelope back into his pocket.

"Sorry, that's not for you." James stammered and instead reached his hand into his left pocket. Sythia clenched her teeth and forced herself not to object from her concealed tree branch. Suspicion coursed through her mind however.

James then pulled out an old silver pocket watch with a spinning dial. On the back was an intricate spider web design with Sir Akio's initials on it. James tossed the pocket watch to Circuit and Circuit snatched it out of the air. His eyes scanned the watch and he clutched it tightly. He recalled how Sir Akio would constantly pull out this watch and check it to make sure he wasn't working Circuit too hard when they were practicing magic.

Sometimes Circuit really loved that watch, other times… He really hated it.

Without another word James tipped his hat in goodbye and waltzed off. There was a slightly triumphant beat to his steps. Sythia slid down the tree and watched him leave. Her eyes screamed, don't come back. Sythia marched over to Circuit, anger rolled off of her in waves.

"I think that creep just scammed us." She snarled. Circuit didn't even glance at her, his eyes were transfixed on the pocket watch. Sythia continued anyways.

"I think in the envelope there was jewel. And he kept it for himself! We should go after him and get it back." Sythia ranted. Eventually Circuit sighed.

"I never even got to say goodbye." Circuit whispered. Sythia stopped talking and looked at Circuit.

"Huh?" She snapped.

"I never even got to say goodbye to Sir Akio. I just left in the middle of the night." Circuit said mostly to himself. Sythia bit her lip, it was clear Circuit didn't care if James _had _scammed them. He was too upset to care. However Sythia was out of her element when comforting people. She awkwardly stood off to the side and let Circuit stare at the pocket watch. Then she gently picked up his sketch book which had been dropped and placed it by his foot.

Without waiting to see if Circuit reacted to the sketchbook or not Sythia rushed up the tree to her platform.

She curled up like a cat on the mattress and cocooned herself in blankets. Her heart clenched. Several tears rolled down her rosy cheeks. She cried because in that moment, she missed her home and her family. She could understand what Circuit was feeling, and it brought a sting back to her old wound. And she cried alone because she would never let another person see her sadness. Sadness was weakness. And she could not let herself appear weak.

Sythia's eyes peered at a small silver web on a leaf. It was so delicate and small, yet the web was a trap used to kill unsuspecting bugs. Sythia was soon lulled to sleep. But she dreamt of the web. It was nothing, and yet it was everything. Each delicate silver strand held its own story. And in the blink of an eye the web could be swept away, destroyed, all of its wonders crushed into oblivion. Even in sleep Sythia was confused to why she cared about the web. It wasn't like her to find meaning in something small and weak. Sythia scowled in her unconscious state and the dream of the web dispersed.

* * *

Sythia was awoken to the sound of a pencil scratching against paper. She crawled out of bed and quietly cascaded down the tree so she could watch Circuit draw. She saw him crouched down on the ground, he was sketching and image of a cobweb. Sythia wrinkled her nose, her dream about the spider web all but forgotten.

"Why a spider web?" Sythia asked. In response Circuit pulled out the pocket watch, on the back was an engraving that looked like a spider web. Inside of the web was Sir Akio's initials. Sythia frowned slightly, she still didn't understand why Circuit would _draw _a spider web.

"Cobwebs are repulsive and hideous. You are wasting your time on art like that." Sythia crowed.

"Ah, but you only see the spider when you say the web is ugly. The spider itself might be gross, to you at least, but it can still create the beauty of a web." Circuit explained and showed Sythia the intricate designs of his drawing. Sythia brushed it off.

"Something as repulsive as a spider could _never_ create something beautiful." Sythia said with a note of finality, trying to end the dispute. But Circuit pressed on.

"There is beauty in everything, Sythia, you just have to look." Circuit stated calmly. Sythia shrugged and rolled her eyes, a signal that she was annoyed. Circuit resumed drawing and Sythia simply walked away.

"_I_ am beautiful, a spider is not." Sythia muttered to herself. She glanced at the blue ocean mixed with shades of greens. The farther out she looked, the deeper the colors went. Waves made the surface sparkle and glitter in the early morning sunlight. Every wave had its own foamy white crest.

"The _ocean_ is beautiful, a spider web is not!" Sythia growled, however she was doubting her own words. Sythia closed her eyes and forced herself to forget the whole conversation she had with Circuit, but it kept nagging at the back of her mind. _There is beauty in everything._


	7. Babysitting

**Chapter 6**

Sythia sat on the tallest tree branch of the sycamore. She stared out at the endless ocean, her mind was twice as big. And even though she had a thousand thoughts coursing through her veins, she kept hearing Circuits voice, _there is beauty in everything. _Sythia scowled and shook her head, her long brown hair wiped around violently.

Eventually Sythia decided to focus on something else entirely to help clear her mind. Sythia pondered for a moment on what to do, then she was reminded of her goal to form a guild. Sythia decided to go into the city to find ways to earn enough money to actually start up a guild, she had been stalling for long enough. She jumped out of the tree and raced into the city, impatient. Her hair swayed in the breeze, drawing the attention of some boys. However Sythia ignored them. She was a mission, and would not be distracted. Her bare feet skid across the pavement as she slowed to a halt. A smile split her face as she saw what she had been looking for, a request board. It sat proudly in the center of the city, so all could see it. But most of the requests were left unanswered. Meaning the pay was great and most, typical people wouldn't handle it.

Sythia returned to the tree with the information she had been seeking and perched on a branch beside Circuit. Circuit continued drawing, unaware of Sythia's presence.

"So," she stated loudly, drawing attention to herself. Circuit nodded to tell her he had heard, but his gaze never wavered from his drawing.

"If we are to start a guild," she continued, "we will need a lot of money. And I think we should earn some the honest way for a change."

"Sure thing, Syth." Circuit agreed, pausing for a moment and looking up at her with an idiodic grin.

"When did I say you could call me that?!" Sythia snapped.

"Oh, you don't like it, Miss Beautiful?"

Sythia gave him a dark scowl. "Just shut your trap and listen." She growled. Circuit snorted but remained silent.

"Ahem. As I was saying... We probably should get some money by honest means. It just so happens that this place doesn't have a guild." Sythia smiled.

Circuit raised an eyebrow. "And that means?"

"That means that there will be a community request board. I've taken a look at some of the jobs and some of them offer quite a bit of jewel. It'll be a good way for us to practice our magic and get some money." Sythia said with exasperation, as if she couldn't believe how dim Circuit could be sometimes.

"Sounds good." he agreed.

"'Kay then. We start now. I figured we would need about 2 million jewel*. We need to buy the land and building, pay the government the set-up fee, then we'll need to have some left over to run the place while we recruit members. Plus on top of all that, we'll have to support ourselves." Sythia listed off.

"Sounds like you got this all figured out." Circuit said, standing up and stretching on his wide branch. Sythia rolled her eyes and bounded out of the tree like a bird.

"Hurry up you sloth!" Sythia shouted from the ground.

_Geez. How'd she get there so fast? _Circuit thought to himself as he climbed down.

"Come on, let's go!" said Sythia in annoyance once Circuit got down.

"Hai, hai..." Circuit said following her as she walked towards the direction of town.

It was a short walk to town. Once they reached the cobblestone pavement, Sythia began to feel kinda excited. She was finally, really on her way to creating a guild! She looked around. The community request board was near the center of town, so it would attract attention. There weren't many wizards in town, so the jobs payed well.

"Alright, we just need to find a few jobs so we can start a guild. That means we can't get arrested, so no pick pocketing." Sythia ordered. Circuit reluctantly agreed.

Sythia and Circuit followed the main road to reach the request board. Circuit attempted to put his arm around Sythias shoulders but a quick zap of lightning sent him following her at a distant pace. He suspected Sythia wasn't paying any mind to him, so he inched closer to a rich looking woman. Then, out of the corner of Sythia's eye, she saw his hand reach out and...

"_Circuit..."_ she hissed menacingly.

"Heh, heh... Bad habits die hard, y'know?" he replied, quickly withdrawing his hand.

Sythia gave him a stern glare and then resumed walking. After a few turns off the main road, they had reached the center of town. The request board stood a little to the right of a massive stone fountain. She briskly walked over and scanned the board, Circuit came and joined her. She noticed that a few heads turned at their actions. It was actually unusual for any city residents to look at the request bard. There was no guild in town so most just assumed there weren't any wizards either.

"Hmm..." she thought aloud. Which one would be a good request? She wanted them to get the jewel as soon as possible, but not have the job be too hard. She glared at the board. None of the jobs seemed to quite meet her standards. She glared even harder.

"Uh! This is getting us nowhere!" she shouted. Circuit looked kinda surprised of her outburst.

"Hey, uh, why don't I just close my eyes and just choose one?" he asked, trying to keep Sythia calm so she wouldn't strike a random passer-by with lightning.

"Sure, sure. It's better than what we're doing now." Sythia said while waving her hand like she really didn't care. Circuit closed his eyes tightly and thrust his finger onto the request board. He opened his eyes and sighed. Sythia glanced to what he had chosen.

"Babysitting?!" Sythia said with disbelief.

* * *

***For those of you who don't know, 100 jewel is about 1 US dollar. That means 1 jewel is about 1 cent.**


	8. The Prank War Begins

**Chapter 7**

Sythia held the flyer for the babysitting request. She chewed her lip nervously as she slowly walked up the long cobblestone path which lead to a colossal mansion. Ivy tendrils scaled its brick walls and covered the many dusty windows. The yard looked a bit wild as assorted weeds were scattered around.

"Do we even have the right address?" Sythia muttered and glanced at the flyer then back at her surroundings. Circuit shrugged.

"I guess we'll find out." He smiled and rang the doorbell. They listened as it chimed, then the sound of pattering feet instantly started and several people scurried around inside of the house. Sythia quirked an eyebrow. Suddenly the front door flew open, three kids stared at Sythia and Circuit with excitement.

"MOM!" The eldest child, a girl, screamed. A woman came running around the corner of the house, she held a sleeping baby in her arms. Her clothes seemed to have a smudge of something brownish and many loose brown hairs were sticking out of her loose bun.

"Be quiet, Kiyomi!" The mother snapped. Then she turned to Circuit and Sythia.

"Sorry, whatever you are selling we aren't interested." The mother said with an awful forced smile, and started to close the door. Sythia shot her foot out and stopped the door from closing. She promptly held up the babysitting flyer.

"Oh! You are here to answer my request?" The mother said happily, face spreading into a genuine smile. Sythia nodded and muttered under her breath "Duh."

The mother ushered Circuit and Sythia inside the house, the three kids followed.

"My name is June." The mother stated. "And these are my kids." She said and motioned to the hyper children.

"My daughter Kiyomi is the oldest, she is twelve. And these are my 9 year old twin sons Eiji and Haru. And this is my 11 month old baby girl, Cho." June explained. Sythia and Circuit nodded.

"So on the flyer it says you are paying 15,000 Jewel if we babysit the kids just for today and tomorrow?" Sythia said cooly, but there was doubt in her voice. _Who would pay 15,000 Jewel just for a babysitter, and only for two days? _Sythia thought.

"Yep, 15,000 Jewel. My husband and I have been meaning to go out, but with our kids we haven't had time. And we have more money than we know what to do with." June laughed. Circuit laughed to, but Sythia stared at the family like they were crazy.

"When are they gonna babysit?" Kiyomi asked excitedly. She bounced up and down on her tip toes.

"Well, I guess if they could babysit tonight and go through to tomorrow that would be fine." June said while checking a calendar. The three kids cheered and pranced around the room. The baby Cho stirred slightly in her sleep but didn't wake up.

"I'll go fetch my husband and we'll be on our way then." June smiled. She gently passed sleeping Cho to Sytha as she opened up her purse and pulled out a wad of Jewel.

"This should cover anything you need to entertain the kids." June added. Sythia and Circuit took the money with wide eyes. June had just given 5,000 Jewel.

"Uh...Thanks?" Circuit said. June scurried off to go find her husband and Sythia and Circuit faced the kids. After a session of awkward staring and shifting, June came back and rushed out the door, dragging her startled husband along.

"See you when we get back! Take good care of the kids!" she called as she waltzed out. The door closed with a small click.

"So..." Sythia trailed off awkwardly. The kids all blinked. Circuit shuffled his feet awkwardly and his hair turned bubble-gum-pink with embarrassment.

"What now?" Sythia hissed under her breath to Circuit.

"I don't know, but if we don't think of something soon I have a feeling these kids will eat us alive." Circuit replied. Sythia clapped her hands together once and smiled a fake cheery smile.

"Alright. Why don't we do circle time, so we can get to know one another?" Sythia suggested. The kids all wrinkled their noses but Sythia ignored them and led them into a living room. She made everyone sit in a circle on the carpet.

"Wow." Circuit snorted. Sythia silenced him with a glare.

"I had to do this all the time when I went to primary school." Sythia sniffed.

"Is that why you left?" Circuit joked. Sythia interrupted him and began circle time.

"OK, all you do is tell us your name and say one thing about yourself." Sythia explained.

"My name is Sythia Linx, and I have lightning magic." Sythia stated. Then she nudged Circuit, telling him it was his turn to go.

"My name is Circuit, and I like Sythia's boobs." He glanced at her chest area and smiled devilishly.

"You. Are. Cynical." Sythia growled while glaring. Sparks ignited in her finger tips. The kids all stared at them warily. Then the twin boys snickered and whispered to each other.

"OK...Kiyomi's turn." Circuit gulped while eying Sythia's sparking hands.

"Um, my name is Kiyomi and I have short curly brown hair." Kiyomi stated. "Oh. Wait, I guess everyone already knew that. Um I have green eyes. Wait, you all already know that too. I am 12, no, my mom already told you that." Kiyomi rambled. "Ah! I've got it! I do ballet!" Kiyomi said at last. Satisfied with having finally picked something Kiyomi allowed the circle time to progress once more.

"My name is Eiji! And I like pranks." Eiji smiled. "My name is Haru!" Haru said immediately after. "And _I_ also like pranks." He added. Sythia glanced at the sleeping baby, Cho, and shrugged.

"OK, that concludes circle time." Sythia announced. "What now?" She asked. Eiji and Haru exchanged excited, suspicious glances before going off to their room. Kiyomi simply carried Cho to her spare crib in the living room.

"Circuit go check on Haru and Eiji. I don't trust them." Sythia murmured. Circuit nodded and ran up to the twins room. Then Sythia began preparing a board game to occupy the awkward passing time. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a shadow slip behind her. Sythia ignored it and continued sorting through the game cards. She dropped a dice on the floor and stood up to go retrieve it. When she sat back down she screamed. She quickly sprang back up and gaped as she realized the chair had been slathered with mud.

"My dress!" Sythia shrieked. Eiji Circuit and Haru all snickered before sprinting away. Sythia let out an inhuman like snarl and began trying to wipe the mud off of her purple satin dress, to no avail. Grumbling, she returned to set up the game. After a couple minutes passed Sythia finally finished setting up the complex board game.

"Kiyomi! Circuit! Eiji! Haru!" Sythia called out and went to go find everyone so they could play the game. As she stepped through the threshold of a door and into another room, a giant bucket of water was poured onto her head from above. Sythia let out a blood-curdling scream as her mass of hair became drenched. Circuit and the twins burst out laughing at their ingenious prank. Sythia looked at them with murder in her eyes.

"You wanna go?!" She said darkly.

Circuit and the twins smiled excitedly before calling out, "PRANK WAR!"


End file.
